The Pretender
by Led Feynman M.D. D.D.S. Ph.D
Summary: Azula drifts away and Ty Lee can only wonder why. Oneshot.


Azula wakes sweating and hyperventilating in a way she hasn't in more than a year. She squeezes a fistful of blankets to her chest as she kicks herself upright into a sitting position against the headboard. To her right, the slim mass of human has begun to stir. She watches Ty Lee roll onto her back, exhale, then glance over towards her.

"What's the matter? Are you okay?" She croaks, twisting herself to sit up. Azula lets out a shaking breath, avoiding Ty Lee's eyes.

"I'm... I'm fine. It was just a nightmare." Azula pulls hair out of her face. "It was nothing."

Ty Lee reaches out to touch her arm but Azula rolls her shoulder away. "It's nothing. Just a nightmare." She slides back down, then turns onto her side so she's facing away.

"Don't you want to talk about it?"

"...No."

"I... Okay, well... Goodnight Azula," Ty Lee mumbles. She watches Azula for another few seconds then slips back under the blanket, frowning.

* * *

- _Four days later_ -

Ty Lee is on the couch watching TV when Ian comes home. He disappears to clean himself up, then comes out to see what's on the TV.

"What's this?"

"Alligator-porcupines. Documentary."

"Cool." He gets a soda from the fridge, sits down on the couch, takes a long drink, and turns to Ty Lee. "What's wrong?"

She sighs. "Azula has been... acting really weird lately."

"Weirder than usual?"

"Like she doesn't want to do anything with me. She doesn't want to talk or go out. She's avoiding me."

Ian sits up. "How long has this been happening?"

"A couple of days." Ty Lee hesitates. "I think it has something to do with a nightmare she had."

"Well did she tell you what it was about?"

"That's just the thing, she's refused to talk about it."

"Is there something up with her... Whoo?" Ian waves his hand around his body.

"I..." Ty Lee sits up and leans forward. "In the past when she woke up from a nightmare, she had a lot of... fear. But when we would talk about it a little, that fear would go away. But this time, when she woke up, she had a lot of fear, but there was also a lot of anger. When I tried to talk to her about it, It seemed like she got a little bit angrier. Even now... It's like she can't trust me. Her fear and anger light up when I'm around her. I'm really worried."

Ian nods for some time before saying anything. "What the hell did she dream about," he muses.

Ty Lee chews on her thumbnail. "I think she had a dream about me, hurting her," she says quietly.

"Whoa, you can't know that. Did you say or do anything that might have upset her recently?"

"No, not that I can think of. I think she'd tell me if it was something I said."

"That's... so weird."

The two sigh.

"Do you think you could... talk to her?"

"Me? Jeez I can barely handle my own emotional problems. How would I even broach the subject without making it obvious that you put me up to it?"

Ty Lee doesn't say anything for a moment. "Start talking about any weird dreams you've had. Ask her if she's had any of her own."

Ian shrugs. "I'll give it a shot tomorrow morning."

"Thank you."

* * *

- _The next morning_ -

There's uncomfortable silence in the bedroom while Azula gets dressed. Ty Lee had said "Good morning" while Azula just said "Hey". The water in the tea kettle has just begun to boil when Ian shuffles into the kitchen and finds his coffee press.

"Leave some for me would you?"

"Sure."

The two make their respective drinks and sit at opposite sides of the kitchen table. Ian dumps sugar into his coffee while Azula adds milk to her tea. So far it's a typical morning.

"You ever have just really weird dreams?" Ian asks, intent on making the morning less normal.

Azula closes her eyes for a few seconds. "Yes. Every now and again."

"Last night I dreamed that I adopted a dog at an animal shelter, but when I got it home it turned out to be a turtle-mouse wearing a dog costume. It bit me on my hands too." He holds up his hands and looks for any imaginary bite marks. Azula just nods. "What about you? Have any weird ones lately?"

"I don't remember much of my dreams, to be honest," Azula says quietly, pulling her arms in closer to her.

"Really? Not even the wild ones?"

"The ones I do remember are usually the ones I don't want to talk about." She stares at her tea. Ian sits quietly.

"I understand. Sorry to bring it up." He busies himself with drinking his coffee.

Azula crosses her arms over the table and rests her head on them. "Do you have... nightmares?"

Ian stops drinking. "Sometimes."

"Have you ever had one that was just... Just so terrifyingly close to home that even when you wake up, it still sort of haunts you?"

"Yeah." Ian nods. I've been there."

"Even though it's just a stupid dream that your brain made up as it went, and can't possibly predict reality in any way," Azula mumbles, almost more to herself than to Ian. Ian decides to poke at it anyway.

"Sounds like you had a pretty heavy one."

"Yeah, it was." She plays with her spoon.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She shakes her head. Ian finishes his coffee and gets up from the table.

* * *

When Ty Lee comes home Azula isn't there. Ty Lee cautiously checks the apartment for her then knocks on Ian's door.

"Ian? Are you in there."

"Yeas," he slurs. A moment later the door pops open and he leans out, eyes bleary and glasses askew.

"Where did Azula go?"

"I don't know. She's been gone a couple of hours and she didn't say anything when she left."

"Okay, has it really been a couple of hours or do you just think it's been because you're high?"

Ian frowns then glances down at his bare wrist. "I don't- fuck off. I tried to talk to her this morning though."

Ty Lee straightens up. "What did she say? Was it the dream?"

"She refused to give specifics, but I'm reasonably confident it was a bad dream." He finally fixes his glasses, which was bugging Ty Lee.

"She wouldn't say what it was about."

"Nah, but I'm pretty sure she's becoming lucid about it. She'll probably come around here in a few days."

"A few days?" Ty Lee leans on the door frame and sighs. "I understand that she probably wants to deal with this by herself but I just wish she would talk to me. I hate living like this."

"Look, far be it from me to dispense any sort of advice with, um, real consequences, but maybe you should try going to her and talking about it. Maybe she's already getting over it. It sounds like she's starting to think it's stupid."

"What if it isn't?"

"Then talk to her anyway," Ian says, a dismissive shrug. "Can't hurt."

Ty Lee stands up and takes a deep breath. "Okay. I'll try to corner her or something tonight."

"Hey, that's the spirit. Good luck Kid," he says shortly and closes the door. Ty Lee stares at the closed door for a few seconds and chews on her lip.

* * *

True to her word, Ty Lee manages to catch Azula sitting on their bed cleaning her glasses. Azula looks up briefly and Ty Lee can see her aura perturb wildly in panic.

"Oh. Hi. Um-"

"Can we talk?" Ty Lee cuts in. Azula freezes, then sets her glasses on her bedside table and stiffens into a more proper sitting position, staring at Ty Lee's legs. Ty Lee takes the silence as a cue to proceed. She lifts her hands, says "I'm just-" and drops her hands.

Azula continues to refuse to make eye contact. She fidgets. Ty Lee sighs and walks over to sit on the bed next to Azula, who doesn't move.

"Look-"

"I've been acting irrationally," Azula says suddenly, to the space where Ty Lee's legs were a moment ago.

"No... Well, yeah, a little."

"And I've been treating you poorly for the last few days, and you don't deserve that."

Ty Lee reaches over to take Azula's hand. She flinches at first, but relents. "It's okay Azula," She says quietly.

"It isn't okay. I've been a bitch to you over some stupid dream I can barely remember now. You don't deserve that, and I'm sorry." Azula turns to face Ty Lee.

"Azula, what was your dream about? What happened?"

"It's dumb," Azula says, shaking her head. "It was really dumb and I'm such an idiot for projecting it onto you."

Ty Lee slides her other hand over Azula's shoulder and leans closer. "Come on, you can tell me. I think it'll make you feel better if you talk about it."

"I'm sorry! I was stupid and I let my paranoid emotions get the better of me." She pulls her legs up onto the bed with her. "I shouldn't have let it get this far."

"Okay, okay, apology accepted. Tell me about the dream."

"I don't want to."

"Please?"

Azula's hand goes to her forehead. "It was dumb and unrealistic. It doesn't matter what it was."

"Well, it matters to me, because it bothers you so it's my problem too."

"It doesn't bother me."

"Not only can I tell that it bothers you, but I can tell that you're lying. Remember?" Ty Lee taps her own head. Azula swears.

"Alright, alright. Before I tell you, I need you to understand that I don't believe that what happened in the dream is in any way indicative of what I actually believe."

"Okay, tell me."

Azula takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. "In my dream, it was years from now, and we were married. And you had convinced me to move back to the Fire Nation, Somehow. And then Zuko, um, died. And then Yana. But their deaths were very mysterious. And then you told me that, um, the only reason you and I married, or even got together in the first place, was so that you could be in the line of succession, and then you just had to kill everyone between you and the Fire Lord's throne. And then you killed me."

Ty Lee nods along with Azula's recollection. When she finishes she bobs her head a little bit more, as if to allow her to continue. "And...?"

"And then I woke up, and every time I saw you all I could think about was you standing over me..." She looks back to Ty Lee, who is still nodding only this time her teeth are showing. "Oh no please."

"I'm sorry Azula!" Ty Lee squawks, slamming her hand over her mouth as she lights up in laughter. "I'm so... sorry. Like I know that it really-y-y-y upset you but oh no wow." She fans herself in one hand while Azula huffs and leans away.

"Okay. Okay. Okay, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I laughed at you Azula! It's just that that is so not me. I could never see myself doing any of that. You've made me far more diabolical than I could ever be." Azula sighs and runs her free hand through her hair.

"I know, like I said, it was dumb but for some reason it just stuck with me. I don't know if I'm subconsciously afraid of you?"

"Azula, you have to lighten up. It was a dream. Dreams don't mean anything. Unless you want them to, I guess. Like a few weeks ago I dreamed that your body was too hot and that if I slept too close to you I would melt!" Ty Lee giggles and pushes hair out of Azula's face.

"I don't even know why it bothered me so much. I know how I feel. Why does it upset me?"

"I think you know why it upset you." Azula pinches her face and nods a bit.

"I guess I do."

"Listen, since I need to send your subconscious a message." Ty Lee adjusts herself so she's facing Azula, and pulls on Azula's legs so she does the same. She puts a hand on either side of Azula's face and leans close, threading her fingers through her lovely black hair. "The next time you have a dream like that one, I want you to remember this. Tell this to your subconscious. I want you to remember why I love you okay?"

Azula nods.

"I don't love you because you're a Royal. I don't love you for your status, your family, or how close you are to the Fire Lord. None of that matters to me. I mean it's nice but it doesn't make any difference in how I feel about you." Ty Lee leans closer so she's inches away from Azula's eyes. They're settled directly on her own, jerking slightly now and again. "Azula. I love you because... you're beautiful on the outside and the inside. I love you because you're caring and passionate and smart. I love you because you're so gracefully awkward. Because despite everything you've been through, I still watch you wake up every day and take on the world with everything you have. And most importantly, I love you because you... are the only person in the entire universe... who can figure out how to get that damn VCR to record my shows." Azula and Ty Lee collapse into each other, laughing. "Hey I'm serious, Ian can't get it to work all the time and that guy is stupid smart."

"It's not that hard Ty Lee, you just have to read the manual," Azula retorts, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.

Ty Lee taps Azula's chest. "See? Like that. How do you get that good."

A moment passes before their laughter subsides to the point where they can maintain some gravity in their conversation.

"Ty Lee, I really am sorry about how I've acted. And I'm also sorry I didn't talk to you right away. I guess I was worried what you'd think."

"See, that's really the only part that bothers me; I want you to be able to tell me everything." Ty Lee leans into Azula. "That's kind of one of the terms of our relationship.

"I know, I know." Azula twists her head to kiss Ty Lee. "Can you ever forgive me?"

"I'm not sure," Ty Lee says melodramatically, placing a hand on her own stomach. "I spent all afternoon hiding in Ian's room and I haven't eaten since the morning." She gazes knowingly at Azula, who laughs.

"Ty, do you want to get something to eat?"

"I think that might help me forgive you."

* * *

I meant to include a note in one of these stories explaining who Ian is but for some reason I forgot to do it. Ian is Azula and Ty Lee's roommate and the former main character of a large piece I spent a long time working on before I ultimately decided to scrap it and break it up into smaller self-contained chunks, such as this one. He'll probably pop up every now and again.


End file.
